Featuring solely screenplays, the WGA has singled out fifteen nominees for their three categories: Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Documentary Screenplay. See the full list of lucky nominees below:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures

Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures

The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Dirty Wars, Written by Jeremy Scahill & David Riker; Sundance Selects

Herblock– The Black & The White, Written by Sara Lukinson & Michael Stevens;
The Stevens Company

No Place on Earth, Written by Janet Tobias & Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures

Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions

We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features

In the narrative categories, few of these nominees can be called surprising as just about all of the above have received critical praise and Oscar buzz. The dark horse contender in the mix is Peter Berg's Lone Survivor, which has had a soft open over Christmas and will expand next week. Based on the true story of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the film offers a detailed and harrowing look at the failed Operation Red Wings, but hasn't earned anywhere near the kind of press and public debate that titles like The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle or Nebraska have. As to surprising omissions: Gravity and 12 Years a Slave are absent. But the Guild's tricky qualifications could speak to why.

In the past, the WGA nominations have shown some crossover with the Academy Award picks for the Best Screenplay Adapted and Original categories. But really they are a chance for fellow scribes to sing the praises of the scripts they found truly sensational and groundbreaking in the past year. What do you think? Is your favorite screenplay of 2013 present here or did the Writers Guild miss the mark? Sound off in comments.

The Writers Guild of America will announce their winners on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at an event held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York City.